Cofounders & Team

| By: Ryan RutanCMO | Tags: Cofounders & Team, Founder, Featured, Co-founder, CEO and Founder, Solo Founder, Technical Cofounder, Business Cofounder, Founder Roles, CEO, CTO, Cfo, Coo, Vp Engineering, Vp Sales, Vp Marketing, Chief Of Staff, Fractional Executive, Interim Executive, Cofounder Search, Cofounder Dating, Founders Agreement, Equity Split, Founder Vesting, Founder Conflict, Founder Breakup, Founder Departure, Succession Planning, Account Executive, Sales Development Representative, Business Development Representative, Customer Success Manager, How To Build A Sales Team, First Hire, Employee Zero, Hiring Plan, Recruiting Strategy, Job Description, Offer Letter, Employee Handbook, Advisor Shares, Employee Vs Contractor, Independent Contractor, Compensation Philosophy, Salary Bands, Career Ladder, Performance Review, Promotion Cycle, Equity Refresh, Employee Equity, Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), One On One Meetings, Skip-Level Meeting, Org Chart, Span Of Control, Layoffs, Severance Package, Exit Interview, Company Culture, Core Values, Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Remote Team, Distributed Team, Async Work

Cofounders & Team

The people side of building a company. This cluster covers founder roles and dynamics, the executive lineup, the hiring sequence, sales and customer success roles, compensation and equity, performance management, layoffs and severance, and the culture and operations that determine whether the team holds together. 63 entries.

If your business succeeds or fails on hiring (most do), this is the cluster you live in.

Founder roles and titles

[Founder], the origin role; once a founder, always a founder.
[Co-founder], when more than one founder; team dynamics nuance.
[CEO and Founder], title combination and the transitions.
[Solo Founder], building without a cofounder.
[Technical Cofounder], engineering-led cofounder profile.
[Business Cofounder], sales/operations-led cofounder profile.
[Founder Roles], dividing responsibilities across the team.

C-suite and executive roles

[CEO], chief executive role and what it actually entails.
[CTO], chief technology officer; engineering leader.
[CFO], chief financial officer; finance leader.
[COO], chief operating officer; operations leader.
[VP Engineering], engineering org leader.
[VP Sales], sales org leader.
[VP Marketing], marketing org leader.
[Chief of Staff], executive multiplier role.
[Fractional Executive], part-time C-suite hire.
[Interim Executive], temporary executive coverage.

Cofounder dynamics

[Cofounder Search], how to find one.
[Cofounder Dating], the structured way to evaluate fit.
[Founders Agreement], the document everything depends on.
[Equity Split], dividing the cap table at formation.
[Founder Vesting], earning back your own equity.
[Founder Conflict], the failure mode of ~65% of startups.
[Founder Breakup], when cofounders separate.
[Founder Departure], when one founder leaves.
[Succession Planning], preparing for transitions.

Sales and customer-facing roles

[Account Executive], the closer in B2B sales.
[Sales Development Representative], inbound qualification (SDR).
[Business Development Representative], outbound prospecting (BDR).
[Customer Success Manager], post-sale relationship owner.
[How To Build A Sales Team], the structural questions.

Hiring and onboarding

[First Hire], the most consequential hire.
[Employee Zero], the framing for early-team mentality.
[Hiring Plan], role-by-role plan.
[Recruiting Strategy], sourcing and process.
[Job Description], what to write.
[Offer Letter], closing the candidate.
[Employee Handbook], codifying culture and policies.
[Advisor Shares], equity for non-employees.
[Employee vs Contractor], the classification question; misclassification is expensive.
[Independent Contractor], when contractor classification is correct.

Compensation, equity, performance

[Compensation Philosophy], the company's stance on pay.
[Salary Bands], structured comp by level.
[Career Ladder], promotion criteria by level.
[Performance Review], the formal evaluation cycle.
[Promotion Cycle], when and how promotions happen.
[Equity Refresh], keeping retention grants competitive.
[Employee Equity], how employees get and keep ownership.
[Performance Improvement Plan], PIPs and what they actually accomplish.

Management practices

[One-on-One Meetings], the weekly cadence.
[Skip-Level Meeting], boss's boss conversations.
[Org Chart], reporting structure that shapes culture.
[Span of Control], the 5-8 direct-reports sweet spot.

Exits and transitions

[Layoffs], the RIF process done humanely.
[Severance Package], the standard 2-weeks-per-year baseline.
[Exit Interview], the structured departure conversation.

Culture and remote ops

[Company Culture], the operating system, not the perks.
[Core Values], what the company actually rewards.
[Mission Statement], what the company exists to do.
[Vision Statement], what the world looks like if the company succeeds.
[Remote Team], distributed work structure.
[Distributed Team], multi-location operations.
[Async Work], non-synchronous collaboration patterns.

About the Author

Ryan Rutan

Founding Partner @ Startups.com platform | Clarity.fm, Launchrock, Fundable, Zirtual, and Co-Host of The Startup Therapy Podcast. Ryan has 15 years of experience as a Founder, Advisor, Mentor, and Investor — the quintessential startup guerrilla. He works with 100's of the best startups every year on everything from ideation, idea validation, early marketing traction, customer acquisition to fundraising, scaling, and operations.

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